TAMA Starphonic Snare Drum Nickel Plated Brass 6x14

I use this snare as a recording snare, live snare, and for practice. It sounds very good it opens up very nicely and has a wonderful crack. The snare also sounds good in any tuning, it sounding nice even just getting it out of the box. #sweepstakes

This is the one. I love everything about this snare drum. I put an Evans HD dry on it and it only took about 7 minutes to replace and tune perfectly. It is the most sensitive and responsive snare I've ever played. It misses nothing, even with the 2 ply head.

This snare is very well made and has a great metallic sounding crack while still sounding warm like a wood drum. Very well rounded. Would fit any musical situation. And with the Freedom lugs, head changes are a breeze. I own six snare drums and I would say that this is my favorite. I wish I would have known how much I like brass snares a long time ago. I would recommend this drum to anyone.

For starters, I have a Starclassic Maple. It's a great "cracky" snare, but I need something that had a certain resonance and would cut without the woody sound. I read all the reviews, and it seemed that brass would have the metal character with some warmth. I ordered the Starphonic Brass, and it showed up in perfect condition. It's very impressive. It's apparent how well made it is as soon as you take it out of the box. I let it acclimate to the temperature in the house, and thought I should start by tuning it similarly to the Starclassic Maple to hear the difference. I put a Drum-Dial on both snares, and the new Starphonic was tuned almost perfectly. Only one lug on top needed adjustment, and the bottom head was perfect. I put it on the stand, and played. The strainer action is great. Nice and smooth. I recorded a session and was amazed at how great this thing sounded right away. It comes with a "Ritchie-Ring" type dampener. I used it, and it is perfect for recording in a heavy guitar context. It's easy to get it to sit in a mix without additional overtones. It's not too loud really. The maple snare is louder. But the tone is pure luxury. It's worth every penny! Comes with: Ritchie-Ring, Tama's excellent drum key with speed knob, Evans G1 coated on top.

I've been playing drums for 35yrs . Played many snare drums . By far this is the BEST snare drum I've ever played ! Why , because this drum doesn't give a lot of overtones . Just enough , and thats with the stock head !!!The sound is warm , gives a loud crack , and the tuning range is far and wide . This snare is easy to tune and once you tune it , it stays !!!If your like me and don't like overtones at all , take off the stock head and put on the Evans Dry Head . SOUNDS EXCELLENT !!!!

This snare is great! I originally owned a steel snare before this, and always found it lacking. That's when I found this drum. This drum has a brass shell so it's a little warmer and also fuller than steel. The hoops are basically triple-flanged except turned in, not out, at the end. By having these hoops, it allows it to be nice and open sounding. The drum has a nice fat sound with plenty of attack as well as a lot of volume! I mean a lot! But it's not out of control, it's just getting used to it first. Tuning is a breeze on this thing, and it stays in tune. I find it sound best when the top bottom head is tuned about a 3rd above the top. Gives it a nice crack with a nice full body. Overall a very top notch snare. Definitely recommend!